Writing Did I do it wrong?

[flareofhoarfrost]

Alright.
This is my first novel so I lack experience, so I need some advice.

First I'll talk about the pros. I have a solid story. I know what I am writing and where the story is heading. It is a dark story weaved by complex characters and their choices.
However, it takes time to reach that level. That's how it is planned. I've already published 8 chapters including the prologue. I took time introducing the Mc and few important characters and the environment they are living in at the moment. Their trouble begins in the next chapter, and that's when the story push forward to the darker side.

My question is, did I take too much time setting the stage?

Is 18k+ words too much?

Did I make the wrong choice?

Also, can you tell me if your first impression of the story, good or bad? Someone said my prologue was too cryptic and synopsis was bad, and I fixed it. Not sure if the current one is good tho.

 

[CinnaSloth]

okay.
1. Cover. Awesome. Beautiful. Very strong start.
2. Words/chapter. 18k words total-ish. 8 chapter. That's roughly 2.1k words per chapter.
-->Lengthy, but not too long, Short, but not that short. Perfect.
3. Planning.
4. Character, and world introductions.
5. Synopsis.

The world is rotting.

Vengeful spirits stalk dreams, driving the living mad. Undead roam the streets, tearing apart the innocent, while ghouls feast without restraint. The world has become something ugly, feral, and unrecognizable.

This ruin is no accident.

Hua Sha knows this.

She is the most feared Arcane Master on the continent of Tianru, a woman whose presence causes spells to unravel and demons to kneel. Once hailed as a prodigy beyond human limits, she now walks the land as a nameless exorcist, surviving on minor commissions while silently sealing catastrophes the world is not ready to face.

She does not save everyone.
She does not ask forgiveness.
Where rot festers, she leaves only fire, blood, and unanswered prayers.

To some, Hua Sha is a devil drenched in innocent blood.
To others, she is the final mercy in a world already damned.

Her path crosses with two brothers: Yu Han, a short-tempered man of action, and his calm, intellectual younger brother Yi Ren. Their meeting becomes entanglement when forbidden magic surfaces. A magic tied to an ancient calamity known as the Curse of the Revenant.

Reluctantly bound together, they follow Hua Sha as she hunts the source of the curse to the ruins of Riluo. With each step, the truth fractures everything they believe: The Revenant is not merely an undead horror, but a consequence—born from choices the world tried to bury.

As kingdoms move to claim its power, the past Hua Sha has spent years erasing begins to surface. The curse knows her. It remembers her. And it may exist because of her.

To end the Revenant, Hua Sha must do more than destroy a monster.

She must confront the sin that gave it life, and decide whether the world deserves to survive what comes after.

When the journey ends, only one question will remain in the ashes of Riluo:

Is Hua Sha the greatest monster this world has ever known…
or the last mercy it will ever receive?

Holy... Okay. Very long.. It's good. It reads almost like a movie advertisement. Which is fine, but it's a synopsis, not a screenplay.
I lost myself around "Her path crosses with two brothers-" and had to reread everything like two, or three times because it's just that long my mind started to wander off.

This:
============================
"The world is rotting.
Vengeful spirits stalk dreams, driving the living mad. Undead roam the streets, while ghouls feast without restraint. The world has become something ugly, feral, and unrecognizable.

Hak-Tua (lol) is the most feared Arcane Master on the continent of Tianru, a woman whose presence causes spells to unravel and demons to kneel. Once hailed as a prodigy beyond human limits, she now walks the land as a nameless exorcist, surviving on minor commissions while silently sealing catastrophes the world is not ready to face.

She does not save everyone. She does not ask forgiveness. Where rot festers, she leaves only fire, blood, and unanswered prayers."
============================

-Was great. Attention grabbing. Tells you what kind of MC she is. Her name. Tells you about the world. Tells you, there's some kind of magic involved within the world. The issue. The road moving forward. What to expect of the story. Period.

6. I didn't crack open the book, But, from what you have here, (not even just for your first book), but as a whole, as writing in general, you're doing good. This is well done. I'm sure the story itself will be fantastic. Taking 8 chapter to get the story really moving is fine. I myself took around 18 chapters to really get my story moving. You're doing great. Don't sweat it. And don't focus on analytics. Numbers take time, and should not be your focus. Your focus is writing the story you want to tell. Keep going.

 

[Eldoria]

Also, can you tell me if your first impression of the story, good or bad? Someone said my prologue was too cryptic and synopsis was bad, and I fixed it. Not sure if the current one is good tho.

I'll just add a little advice. Choose 3-5 genres that truly represent the core of your fiction. Too many genres will confuse readers. This way, readers can clearly understand the themes of your fiction, allowing for a more controlled readership and avoiding wrong genre expectations.

 

[flareofhoarfrost]

okay.
1. Cover. Awesome. Beautiful. Very strong start.
2. Words/chapter. 18k words total-ish. 8 chapter. That's roughly 2.1k words per chapter.
-->Lengthy, but not too long, Short, but not that short. Perfect.
3. Planning.
4. Character, and world introductions.
5. Synopsis.


Holy... Okay. Very long.. It's good. It reads almost like a movie advertisement. Which is fine, but it's a synopsis, not a screenplay.
I lost myself around "Her path crosses with two brothers-" and had to reread everything like two, or three times because it's just that long my mind started to wander off.

This:
============================
"The world is rotting.
Vengeful spirits stalk dreams, driving the living mad. Undead roam the streets, while ghouls feast without restraint. The world has become something ugly, feral, and unrecognizable.

Hak-Tua (lol) is the most feared Arcane Master on the continent of Tianru, a woman whose presence causes spells to unravel and demons to kneel. Once hailed as a prodigy beyond human limits, she now walks the land as a nameless exorcist, surviving on minor commissions while silently sealing catastrophes the world is not ready to face.

She does not save everyone. She does not ask forgiveness. Where rot festers, she leaves only fire, blood, and unanswered prayers."
============================

-Was great. Attention grabbing. Tells you what kind of MC she is. Her name. Tells you about the world. Tells you, there's some kind of magic involved within the world. The issue. The road moving forward. What to expect of the story. Period.

6. I didn't crack open the book, But, from what you have here, (not even just for your first book), but as a whole, as writing in general, you're doing good. This is well done. I'm sure the story itself will be fantastic. Taking 8 chapter to get the story really moving is fine. I myself took around 18 chapters to really get my story moving. You're doing great. Don't sweat it. And don't focus on analytics. Numbers take time, and should not be your focus. Your focus is writing the story you want to tell. Keep going.

Wowww... Thank you so much. It's really helpful. I was so lost and updated the synopsis like 10 times past couple of days. I really struggle with understanding my own writting in a readers perspective.

I'll just add a little advice. Choose 3-5 genres that truly represent the core of your fiction. Too many genres will confuse readers. This way, readers can clearly understand the themes of your fiction, allowing for a more controlled readership and avoiding wrong genre expectations.

Thanks alot. site allowed me to select up to 8 genres so I did. ? I'll quickly fix it.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Are you planning this as a traditional novel or a webnovel? As a trad novel, 8 chapters of set-up is reasonable; heck, some of the Harry Potter novels take over a dozen before you really get into the story - but you already have a "captive" audience, someone who either bought or checked out the book from the library, and who is motivated to stick around for the long haul as a result.
As a webnovel, you need to hint at the true story and have a secondary story running to resolve quickly, and keep having secondaries, primarily to keep the length up without dragging out the main story too much - never forget the overall story, but also just remember to advance it enough to remind readers it exists, and give them something else with a full arc before the next arc. Eventually one of the "lesser arcs" will end with the true climax of the story and tie it all in together.

 

[LeilaniOtter]

Hmm.

Honestly, this depends on the overall length you plan for the book. You might need to take a little longer to "set the table", as it were, and that's okay, if the writing itself is flowing and the story is developing. It's not unusual to introduce a lot of characters gradually, as long as they are 100% developed and known to the reader (origins, backstories, personas, etc.) by the time the story goes into high gear. Frankly, if you're worried, some mini-adventures before the main event never hurts either. Just entertain, that's all. ?

 

[DismaiNaim]

Alright.
This is my first novel so I lack experience, so I need some advice.

First I'll talk about the pros. I have a solid story. I know what I am writing and where the story is heading. It is a dark story weaved by complex characters and their choices.
However, it takes time to reach that level. That's how it is planned. I've already published 8 chapters including the prologue. I took time introducing the Mc and few important characters and the environment they are living in at the moment. Their trouble begins in the next chapter, and that's when the story push forward to the darker side.

My question is, did I take too much time setting the stage?

Is 18k+ words too much?

Did I make the wrong choice?

Also, can you tell me if your first impression of the story, good or bad? Someone said my prologue was too cryptic and synopsis was bad, and I fixed it. Not sure if the current one is good tho.

After two years, I'm currently drafting chapter 65, having already passed 270,000 words.

I'm only now beginning to clue my audience in to how dark things are behind the curtains.

I'm also a terrible sinner—chapters 3500-5500 long, often released weeks apart, and yet somehow I've got hundreds of followers across multiple platforms, and I even sold a paperback the other day.

 

[flareofhoarfrost]

Are you planning this as a traditional novel or a webnovel? As a trad novel, 8 chapters of set-up is reasonable; heck, some of the Harry Potter novels take over a dozen before you really get into the story - but you already have a "captive" audience, someone who either bought or checked out the book from the library, and who is motivated to stick around for the long haul as a result.
As a webnovel, you need to hint at the true story and have a secondary story running to resolve quickly, and keep having secondaries, primarily to keep the length up without dragging out the main story too much - never forget the overall story, but also just remember to advance it enough to remind readers it exists, and give them something else with a full arc before the next arc. Eventually one of the "lesser arcs" will end with the true climax of the story and tie it all in together.

It is a webnovel.
Within 8 chapters I introduced the main character, side characters, the world they live in currently, legends, the curse, a little bit of the magic system, and at the end of the chapter 8, their problem. Side characters are so important because they have their own stories interwined with MC's arc.

Eventually one of the "lesser arcs" will end with the true climax of the story and tie it all in together.

This is what I'm planning to do.

 

[CinnaSloth]

It is a webnovel.
Within 8 chapters I introduced the main character, side characters, the world they live in currently, legends, the curse, a little bit of the magic system, and at the end of the chapter 8, their problem. Side characters are so important because they have their own stories interwined with MC's arc.

This is what I'm planning to do.

It seems you really do have a plan. Very respectable.
But you also just started.
I'll say again, just keep going.
Soon enough you'll have 20, 30, 40 chapters, and as long as you stick to your plan, stick to your guns, and remember to have fun while you're writing, everything will turn out well. Keep going. Don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[flareofhoarfrost]

It seems you really do have a plan. Very respectable.
But you also just started.
I'll say again, just keep going.
Soon enough you'll have 20, 30, 40 chapters, and as long as you stick to your plan, stick to your guns, and remember to have fun while you're writing, everything will turn out well. Keep going. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Thanks alot. I'll keep it in mind. Perhaps I'm thinking too much.

 

[L1aei]

Alright.
This is my first novel so I lack experience, so I need some advice.

...

Did I make the wrong choice?

What is your goal here for writing at all? You don't have to answer, just consider your reasons. Mine? I do it for fun. Some others? They like the dopamine gained from attention, so they focus on what attracts an audience. Let's not forget those seeking to unload their own experiences and share them anonymously through fiction. Then there's those who want to monetize their work. Maybe more types out there, but that's the big three. ...wait, make that four.

Before worrying about word counts or pacing, you need to figure out why you're writing this at all.

I mean, like, maybe you are writing purely for yourself. Great! Because you enjoy the slow burn just like me. That atmosphere, the gradual descent, all that good stuff. Then, yeah, 18k of described calm before the storm isn't "too much."

It's intentional.
You wrote that for a reason.

But if you're writing to build or retain an audience here, then, yep; 18k before the plot visibly turns dark will bore some readers to death. And, no, it is absolutely not because it's done wrong, but because attention spans are short and expectations from those folks are impatient, apparently.

Now, if your goal is eventual monetization or doing some nifty publishing on Amazon or whatever, then the question isn't word or chapter count. Not going to sound professional about this because I ain't, but my opinion is it's whether tension, questions, or unease are present early enough to justify the runway train.

Let's get back to your point on whether you made the "wrong" choice: NO. But choices have consequences depending on your goal. I repeat, everything depends on your goal; and that's the part only you get to decide. Also, please do not apologize for that to anyone.

A slow setup isn't a flaw. An unjustified slow setup... well, that is.

 

[flareofhoarfrost]

What is your goal here for writing at all? You don't have to answer, just consider your reasons. Mine? I do it for fun. Some others? They like the dopamine gained from attention, so they focus on what attracts an audience. Let's not forget those seeking to unload their own experiences and share them anonymously through fiction. Then there's those who want to monetize their work. Maybe more types out there, but that's the big three. ...wait, make that four.

Before worrying about word counts or pacing, you need to figure out why you're writing this at all.

I mean, like, maybe you are writing purely for yourself. Great! Because you enjoy the slow burn just like me. That atmosphere, the gradual descent, all that good stuff. Then, yeah, 18k of described calm before the storm isn't "too much."

It's intentional.
You wrote that for a reason.

But if you're writing to build or retain an audience here, then, yep; 18k before the plot visibly turns dark will bore some readers to death. And, no, it is absolutely not because it's done wrong, but because attention spans are short and expectations from those folks are impatient, apparently.

Now, if your goal is eventual monetization or doing some nifty publishing on Amazon or whatever, then the question isn't word or chapter count. Not going to sound professional about this because I ain't, but my opinion is it's whether tension, questions, or unease are present early enough to justify the runway train.

Let's get back to your point on whether you made the "wrong" choice: NO. But choices have consequences depending on your goal. I repeat, everything depends on your goal; and that's the part only you get to decide. Also, please do not apologize for that to anyone.

A slow setup isn't a flaw. An unjustified slow setup... well, that is.

I began writing for fun. I just want to write the story in my head. I tend to look for perfection and constant improvement.